Family Historian User Group

I would like to know what the consensus of opion is concerning the county boundary changes that have taken place through the ages.
Do I use the county name used when the event Barrow-In-Furness always used to be in Lancashire but is now in Cumberland.
The other point is that Cumberland was called Cumbria so which do I use for say Coniston that was in Cumbria and is now in Cumberland.

ID:6374

I guess the answer may depend on whether you want to use the data for anything other than your own needs.

The subject of counties can be very confusing. Prior to the 1880s counties were distinct geographical areas but the introduction of County councils confused the issue slightly as the boundaries served by each county council didn't always match up with those that had existed previously. Registration of births marriages and deaths was a county council function.

The problem was increased in the seventies when local government was reorganized and several of the old county councils like Rutland, Cumberland and Westmorland were abolished. New county councils like Avon and Cumbria were created. These new names were used by registrars on certificates.

The issue though has now become even more confusing with he emergence of new Unitary Authorities in the 1990s. These unitary councils took over existing functions of the county councils and in order to do so the government created many more counties. They are merely counties in name only so that the councils that run these places can cary out the old county council functions.

Here in Milton Keynes children born since 1996 have on their birth certificates that they were born in the County of Milton Keynes.

I have a similar problem deciding which countries people are born in. The boundaries of European nations have changed because of conflicts and political changes over the centuries people born in the same location may have been born in different countries. Even the name of the location may have been changed. So should I record the modern name for the location or the original?

This topic has come up several times in the Forums.

My solution is to put the original Registration District, County, Country in the Place field.
Then I put the current full Postal Address as best I can in the Address field.

This would be somewhat similar to the Knowledge Base article on What is a Place?

It also helps when using the mapping Plugins and Google Maps to find where places are now.

Others always use current Town, County, Country in the Place field and just the House/Church Address in the Address field, and rely on Source Records or Notes to record the original details.